Improvement in chairs



CHARLES M. OHARA.

Improvement in Chairs.

Patented April 30, 1872.

Witnessesf UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES MELSOM OHARA, OF HILLSBOROUGH, OHIO.

IMPROVEMENT IN CHAIRS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 126,322, dated April 30, 1872.

I, CHARLES MELSOM OHARA, of Hillsb0rough, in the county of Highland and State of Ohio, have invented certain Improvements in Chairs, of which the following is a specification:

Nature and Objects of the Invention.

This is an improvement on the ordinary chair, and is designed to make it comfortable, and at the same time well adapted to common use as an office, dining-room, or parlor chair, without adding a great deal to its cost. The fault in most chairs is, that the body of the occupant being more on the front part of the chair than on the back there is a very small point of contact, and from their construction the angular parts of the chair are usually those of closest contact, which makes them uncomfortable. My invention is designed to accommodate the back of the chair to the varying position of the back of the sitter; and consists in hanging the back in a frame, the upper end forming the center of a 'circle in which the back travels, and in making the back of slats attached to each other by webbing, straps, hinges, or other flexible or yielding devices, so that the back may more perfectly accommodate itself to the back of the sitter; the swinging back may also be made of cane, or upholstered in the usual manner; and the slats may be curved to fit the body, if desired. The tension of the swinging back is maintained at any desired point by a uadrant of a circle of proper diameter attac ed to the arms of an arm-chair, and which may, or may not, be provided with corrugations or indentations, on or in which a bar or rgd forming the outer part of the circle rests; or if the chair-back be of cane or upholstered, and consequently unyielding, the back may be retained in its place by an eccentric or lockin g-lever traversing a smaller circle. To bring the chair forward, the chairback must be pulled to throw the back back, the locking levers must be pushed. In order to vary the height of the back legs and thereby add to the comfort of the sitter without spoiling the chair for ordinary use, I have made them with a rule-joint, which lets the back of the chair down,several inches. To lower the seat the chair is slightly tilted backward, when the lower part of the legs turns under, and on slightly raising the back the legs at once resume their normal height by means of a spring, in which they are assisted by their own weight.

General Description with Reference to Drawing.

In the drawing the figure is a chair with arms.

A is the frame of the back. B is the swinging back. O O are the straps or webbing, by which the slats are held together, which may be done by sewing, riveting, by loops on the under side of the slats, or by putting webbing or straps on both sides, and rings or bands between. D is the tension-bar traversing the quadrant E. F is the eccentric or locking-lever. G is the rule-joint in back legs. H is the spring by which they are restored to their normal height and kept so.

The back as thus constructed can be instantly moved to any desired angle by taking hold of tension-bar at D D and bringing the back up to or away from the person, as desired, the weight of the body increasing the tension and keeping it securely in its place. By this arrangement the back is fully supported in any desired position, and the chair is made equally well adapted for use as an easy-chair, a dining-room chair, or an office-chair, and at very slightly-increased cost over that of most chairs.

Claims.

1. The attaching to the leg of the chair the jointed extension G with its spring H, as shown, for the purpose described.

2. The swinging back B, in combination with the frame A and E, as shown and described.

(JHAS. M. OHARA.

Attest:

HENRY L. MEEK, R. L. SEYBERT. 

